On this day in Mormon History 95 years ago, a new edition of
the LDS Doctrine and Covenants was accepted as the newest version of the
scripture. Perhaps most remarkable about
this new 1921 version is not what it contained, but rather what it no longer
contained.
Since the first publication of the Doctrine and Covenants in
1835 (not including the 1833 Book of Commandments), the book contained both
the doctrine and the covenants. The “doctrine”
section was the Lectures on Faith, which were a series of 7 lectures given to
the School of the Prophets in Kirtland, and the “covenants” section contained
the revelations given through Joseph Smith up to 1835. In 1844, another edition of the Doctrine and
Covenants was printed, which contained all the revelations received up to that
point. This edition also contained the
“doctrine” portion, and though Joseph Smith approved a version prior to his
death in June of 1844, this edition did not print until later that year. Editions were produced over the next 50 years,
and they all contained the doctrine portion of the book. In 1921, a church committee edited and
approved the first version where the Lectures on Faith were deleted.
In any case, I have found these lectures immensely valuable and
I consider them a necessary part of my studies into the nature of God and the
developing of faith.
You can purchase the lectures, but free versions can be
found online as well. If you want a
copy, let me know and I can email a pdf version.
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